Loyalties Never Die
by abitherabii
Summary: When someone takes a person Tony cares about, Tony would do anything to get them back. Even if it means lying down on the wire and letting the other man walk across him. Tony!Whump, no slash and mild Pepperony. Rated K for mild swearing x This is my first try, so please please please be nice xx Thanks all!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sorry for no story updates, and yes, I know I should be updating my current story, Seldom The Notting Hill Murderer, but, to be perfectly honest, I think I might offer it up to anyone that wishes to take it up. Just PM me x Sorry guys, it's just that my life is so busy right now, but the plot bunnies were gnawing and gnawing at me to write this, even though I am having a relaxing holiday in southern France! So anyways, I doubt this will be a one shot, but I don't know how long I will make it xx Thanks for being amazing xx**

**Disclaimer: I do not own a single scrap of Marvel. I wished upon a star, but sadly, it was not to be.**

**Summary: When someone takes a person Tony cares about, Tony would do anything to get them back. Even if it means lying down on the wire and letting the other man walk across him. Tony!Whump, no slash and mild Pepperony.**

**Extra A/N: Just thought I'd say. I am a ****_huge _****Avengers fan, and I have been reading Fanfiction (mainly Tony!Whump) about it for ages, but I have never written one for it. So This is my first go :D Constructive criticism is encouraged, but ****_please_**** don't flame me, as I can't take anything useful from your comment if you do. Anyways…**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

The Avengers were just milling about The 'Avengers' Tower, as Tony had come to name it, when the call came in. Natasha was the first to pick it up, because she was sitting in the conference room already. She liked the quietness of it, as no-one entered unless an actual meeting was taking place.

"Romanoff, what's the issue sir?" Natasha asked, looking into Director Fury's face on one of Tony's high tech computer screens, that even Bruce didn't seem to understand.  
"Call everyone together, this is urgent" Natasha hadn't ever seen Director Fury look like he had when he said those words. It was a look that didn't seem to quite fit on his face. Concern. Or was it guilt?  
"Of course" Natasha said, suddenly alert. "May I ask what the issue is?" she questioned, curiosity knitted in her brow.  
"Just get all the team together and call me." Fury answered.  
"Yes sir." Natasha replied.  
"Oh, and Romanoff?" Fury said, just as Natasha was leaving the room.  
"Yes sir?"  
"Make sure everyone is prepared for this. Especially Stark."  
"Of course, sir." Natasha said, keeping her poker face, but confused with the whole situation.

Director Fury nodded, before ending the call.

_'That was weird.' _thought Natasha. In all the time she had been working at S.H.I.E.L.D, she had never seen the look that Fury had worn when he had called her. Even when Hawkeye had been compromised. She shook these thoughts from her head. _'Barton-__**Clint**__-'_ she corrected herself, _'was fine now, and what had happened with Loki was never going to happen again.'_

Finding the team wasn't exactly hard. When people weren't running around on missions or in the third world or on Asgard they tended to either stick to their respective floors or the main floor of the penthouse that Stark had opened as a communal area for the team. Today it just so happened that Tony, Steve, Bruce and Thor were watching a film on an enormous wide-screen TV, sharing popcorn and painting the perfect picture of family. It was a shame that she had to ruin it really.

"Call just came in. Fury. Seemed quite urgent." Natasha said, never a woman of many words.  
"But we're half-way through 'Despicable Me 2'!" complained Tony, mock annoyance in his voice.  
"Fury seemed quite hit by it. He said to gather you all ASAP." Natasha continued. Suddenly, realising the absence in the room, Natasha said, "Where's Barton?"  
"You mean Legolas?" Tony confirmed. "He's in the vents somewhere." Then, leaning over to the nearest vent opening he shouted, "YOU BETTER NOT BE GOING ANYWHERE _NEAR_ MY LAB, FEATHER BOY!"  
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Barton, I know your there, come out, Fury's calling, it's urgent."

Moments later the vent that Tony had just shouted into fell off the wall, and Clint Barton popped he head out.  
"No need to shout Stark, you almost deafened me!"  
Steve, Thor and Bruce just rolled their eyes, exasperated by their fellow team mate's antics.

"Stark, I'm being serious now, Fury told me that we all need to be ready for what he is about to tell us." She paused. "But you most of all."

That had an immediate effect on the room. Everyone stilled and looked at Tony. "Well.." he said, brushing it off as usual. "I guess we should go then."

Everyone stood and left, walking to the conference room in silence, everyone lost in their thoughts. As soon as they arrived Tony set up the connection and made the call back to Fury.

**A/N: The next chapters will ahve more content, this is just to get the story rolling x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews! You guys make this so rewarding xxx I might post chapter 3 as well soon xx I was sitting in my bed (it was 12:07am) in our Eurocamp caravan in southern France, and I got bored, so I decided to write this, so if it doesn't make sense, I apologise x Sorry this is so short and kinda boring, but, I promise (and hope) that it will get better! xx Thanks for reading and reviewing my story in this little corner of the internet xx**

**Disclaimer: First chapter**

**Chapter 2**

_Previously: Everyone stood and left, walking to the conference room in silence, everyone lost in their thoughts. As soon as they arrived Tony set up the connection and made the call back to Fury._

"Took your time Romanoff." Furry stated, a look of disapproval on his face.  
"Sorry, got side tracked." Natasha coolly defended. Tony was impressed with the way she didn't even flinch when The Director used his harsh, accusing tone. He was snapped out of his admiration when Steve said, "What did we need to be ready for, sir?"

The room went silent. Fury took a deep breath. "Stark, this news may hit you hard, so I want you to be pre-"  
"You called us here to say something, so go on, out with it!" Tony interrupted.  
The Director carried on as if Tony had not spoken, "-pared, and I want you to be ready."

Silence.

"Pepper's been taken. We have footage and proof of life, but the captures want you to meet them."

The room stays silent. Tony is only vaguely aware of all the eyes on him, he only feels a mixture of anger, fear and guilt.

"How long have you known about this?" Tony whispered. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a flicker of guilt flash across The Director's face.  
"Two days." The Director admits, looking away briefly.  
"TWO DAYS?! WHY THE _HELL _WASN'T I TOLD?!" Tony shouted.  
"We didn't want you to act rashly we-"  
"ACT RASHLY?! HOW. BAD. IS. SHE?" Tony asked through gritted teeth.  
"We'll admit, it's not looking good. We think it would be best if you came in and saw it for yourself."  
"Damn right, I'm coming in!" Tony quickly left the room and the rest of the team heard Tony leave in one of the Iron Man suits.

"Why has Man of Iron acted so much like a mad man, sister Natasha?" Thor asked.  
"Because, _sir,_ here" she nodded towards Fury, "thought it best not to tell him that the love of his love was in trouble." She then addressed the Director only, "You know that he is going to act rashly now."  
"Yes, I know, but we thought we could handle it. _I_ thought-" The Director started.  
"But you couldn't, and now you have left a civilian at the hands of some mad men!" Clint accused.

It was odd for Bruce, Steve and Thor to see the assassins speak so harshly to The Director, but they supposed that the time called for it.  
"Let's go give Tony some back up at S.H.E.I.L.D, he'll probably need it." Bruce suggested. The others all nodded and Natasha hung up on The Director without even a goodbye.

"I would murder him if he wasn't my god damn boss." she muttered.

Not a single one of the remaining team members in the room would even put it past her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is hopefully going to be bigger. I know where the story is going to go, I just need to find out the journey that it will take J Hope you're all not ****_too_**** disappointed, and I hope you keep on reading x**

**Disclaimer: First chapter**

**Chapter 3**

_Previously: "I would murder him if he wasn't my god damn boss." she muttered._

_Not a single one of the remaining team members in the room would even put it past her._

Fury winced as he heard Tony Stark storming through the S.H.E.I.L.D facility, shouting at anyone in his way. When he finally got to the Bridge, he was angrier than anyone Fury had ever seen, and that involved the Council.  
"Stark-" he started.  
"_Shut. Up_." Tony said through clenched teeth. "Where is she?" even though he had stopped shouting, he seemed even angrier than he had before.  
"We don't know." Fury admitted.  
"Don't know?! Did you not trace the video footage that you _claim _to have received?!" Tony accused.  
"Of course we did, but the signal was being bounced around and it was near impossible to trace!" Fury defended.

Stark looked like he was about to blow.  
"_Near_ impossible to trace? Doesn't that mean that there is a chance for it to be traced?!" Tony sighed. The adrenaline from the anger he had felt before seemed to be wearing off. "Just, please, show me the footage." The only emotion left in his voice was fear. He was _pleading_ with the Director.

Just then the rest of the team ran through the doors onto the bridge.  
"Tony!" a rather breathless Bruce panted. "Are you ok?!"  
"Team, I appreciate your concern for Stark, but please could you leave as-" The Director started.  
"No. I want them here. They can stay. We all need to see this."

The Director nodded and walked up to one of the main monitors and pressed a button. The screen flickered to life and the video started.

_Pepper was tied to a chair with a deep cut to the forehead_, _seemingly unconscious.  
"Hello S.H.E.I.L.D." a hooded man started. "This is a message for Tony Stark. We have your dear Pepper Potts." he spat out the name like it was nothing more than a piece of gum on his shoe. "As you can see, we do not hold back from hitting a woman." As if to prove his point he then smacked Pepper round the face and punched her in the stomach. She only groaned in response._

By this point, Tony was as pale as flour and was shaking so much he could barely stand. The rest of the team watched on in horror.

_"Now, surrender your arc reactor on the 28__th __of this month, or we _**will**_ shoot her. If you bring anyone else, I _**will **_shoot her. That is a promise I shall keep." A small voice interrupted Hammer, "Tony, don't." before a burly man punched Pepper in the face and made her silent once more. "Stark," Hammer continued as if nothing had happened. "You probably know where we are right now, as you, I would have guessed, have recognised the room we are in. Meet us here on the 28__th__ or we will shoot her." The faceless voice seemed to have a slight nasal tone to it, as if his nose was painful. "Have fun!" he added before the screen went black._

Tony was now shaking so badly that Bruce came and supported him to a chair at the conference table on the Bridge.  
"I- I need to g-go. I need to he-help her." Tony stuttered.  
"No, it's a trap, we need a pla-" Steve started.  
"But it's Pepper." Tony said simply. "I would die for her, and she would die for me. Tomorrow is the 28th, I'll be there."

No-one seemed surprised by this but Bruce didn't agree with Tony's plan.  
"If you just tell us where she is, maybe we can-"  
"No." said Tony, standing up. "Did you not hear what he said? Anyone else goes and they shoot her. I need to do this alone."

"Who was he?" asked Steve slowly.  
"An old 'friend' of mine." Tony replied. If the situation wasn't so dire, Clint would have laughed. 'Friend'? Stark doesn't make 'friends'. Instead he asked, "Can we have a name?"

"Natasha?" Tony offered.

Natasha took a deep breath. If she was right, then the situation was worse than they thought.

**A/N: Ooooo! Cliffie! I don't normally use those but, ya know J This chapter was a bit longer and had a bit more action in it, so hopefully I met your needs. I will try and update ASAP, as I have the next few chapters written up J Hope you're all having a great summer!**

**abitherabii**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sooooo sorry for no updates, I had no wifi for ****_3 days! 3 days!_**** Arrrggg, it was so frustrating to know that I was keeping people waiting, and when I logged onto my FaceBook, I had 103 notifications, so it took some time to trawl through that -_- Anyway, I hope that in this chapter the action will become more evident (But if you haven't watched Iron Man 2, then this may make nooo sense at allll) xx Thanks for staying with me and for all the reviews and love I am getting xx Love you all xx**

**Disclaimer: First chapter**

**Chapter 4**

_Previously: Natasha took a deep breath. If she was right, then the situation was worse than they thought._

"Justin Hammer." Natasha stated.

After looking at the blank faces of Bruce, Steve, Clint and Thor, Natasha explained further.  
"He tried to replicate the Iron Man suit by recruiting one of Tony's enemies, who had managed to make a similar thing to his arc reactor. But the suits didn't work as well as Tony's because they didn't have _his_ arc reactor. Since then, Hammer has been off the radar. Till now."

Tony shook his head, "My fault. All my fault. I should just leave her, she would be safer."  
"No." Bruce said. "If you left her, it would hurt her more than whatever this Hammer guy could do. She is doing this for you Tony. And she would do it again."  
"That's the problem!" Tony wept, tears streaming down his face. "When I'm here she'll feel like she needs to help me, even if it means putting herself in danger. I can't make her do this anymore."

The team were surprised to see the normally calm and composed Tony break down in front of them like this.  
"We need to let him go. It's what he has to do." Natasha whispered to The Director. He simply nodded in agreement.

Tony shakily stood up, wiped his tears away and slowly exited the bridge.  
"Shouldn't we follow him?" asked Steve.  
"No." Natasha said. "He needs to do this himself."  
"But he'll die without the reactor!" protested Bruce.  
"It's what he needs to do. If he dies, he dies" Fury replied.

Tony stood outside the bridge, hearing every single word. _So Fury doesn't care if I die doing this? That makes my decision final. No-one will miss me when I go. Only Pepper, but this is better for her anyway._ He turned and walked out of S.H.I.E.L.D without looking back.

**Pepper's POV**

Pain. That was the first thing that registered when Pepper woke up from the depths of unconsciousness. Her head hurt, her ribs hurt, everything hurt.  
"Urrgghh." she moaned, opening her eyes groggily and then immediately wishing she hadn't. As soon as she opened them the bright, fluorescent lights pierced her head and made her headache even worse.  
"Ahh, I see our guest has woken up. Care for a drink?"  
"Hammer." Pepper spat. "Where am I? Where's Tony?"  
"Now, now! Calm down! You'll see him soon. But let's just have some you and me time." Hammer coolly said. "You're beautiful, you know that, don't you?" Hammer was gradually getting closer and closer to Pepper's face. "Stark doesn't treat you right, he doesn't deserve you."

Pepper wanted to slap him, or at least kick him in the groin. But since her hands and legs were tied, she did the next best thing. She head-butted him. There was a gratifyingly loud crack and Pepper smiled as she heard Hammers cries of pain.  
"You're wrong." She said. "_I _don't deserve _him_." Two burly men ran in and one escorted Hammer out of the room, before the second punched her in the mouth.

She spat out blood from her mouth before screaming after the retreating figure of Hammer, "Tony will not give in to you! He is a great man! Better than you could ever hope to be!" before her world turned black as another fist connected with her head.

Pepper woke again to extreme pain, as someone smacked her round the face and punched her in the stomach. She tried not to cry out in pain, but inevitably let out a small groan. If she thought her body was painful before, this was ten times worse. It took her a few moments to realise that someone was speaking. She then saw a camera in front of her and pieced two and two together. She heard the end of what someone was saying.  
"Now, surrender your arc reactor on the 28th of this month, or we will shoot her. If you bring anyone else, I will shoot her. That is a promise I shall keep."

She gathered all her strength and managed "Tony, don't" before the burly man that had ushered Hammer from the room before, punched her in the face. She fell silent after that.

_Tony mustn't come here, _she thought, _He'll die!_

And then her chance was gone, the camera was packed away and Hammer left.

The next two days was a blur of beatings and Pepper was only awake for part of them.

On the third day, the same man that had punched her the first time entered the prison of a cave she was in. She flinched and closed her eyes, ready for the beating…that never came. Suddenly she felt her hands and legs being untied. Slowly she opened her eyes again.  
"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. The man didn't reply. Realising that this might be the only chance she got at escaping and helping Tony, Pepper lashed out and kicked the unsuspecting man in the face. He didn't even flinch. He simply picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and walked out with a protesting Pepper.

"Where are you taking me?!" Pepper screamed, clawing at the man's back. "Tell me!"

They entered a new room, and Pepper stopped screaming. She could hear something. Soft and gentle, full of love and care.

"Hello Peps."

**A/N: Ahhhhhh! A longer chapter and another cliffie :D I am getting better at this author malarkey! I hope you all know who the person at the end of this chapter is, and if you don't, PM me, because it means I need to write more descriptively x I thought I needed a Pepper POV (****_P_****oint ****_O_****f ****_V_****iew for those not up to date with Fanfcition slang) because then it gives you some perspective of the whole story. The time framing is odd in this chapter, so sorry about that, but here is me explaining it as best as I can: At the start of Pepper's POV, it is when she is first kidnapped, (and she breaks Hammer's nose when she head-butts him, that's why he sounds like he's in pain in the video : D I got this from the film, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, which is great, you should check it out!), and when she wakes up for the second time (from being slapped and punched), it is partway through the video, and that is when she says, "Don't Tony" which Tony hears when he is watching the video previously in chapter 3, which is two days later. It is the third day when Pepper is taken to the next room, which is the 28****th**** of the month, the day Tony has to meet Hammer in the mysterious building that only Tony seems to know the whereabouts to. And that is you up to speed with the whole thing :D Sorry for a long A/N, but I feel like it needed to be said :D Thanks again xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Soooo…. Still dying in the heat of southern France, but that's us British people all over. We say it's too cold in England, so we go abroad, but then it's too hot! Sorry for the delay, I do have all the chapters (well, up to 7, which is basically the last one) written, so it's just finding time to post the chapters that's the issue :/ But I have set myself a target :) I will post a chapter every Wednesday (UK times) so get ready for that :)Hope you're all having a great holiday, and hope you're enjoying this story!**

**P.S: This chapter starts back with the team, and leaves you wondering who is was that said, "Hello Peps." (Although you probably know now :D ). It's meant to build 'tension' but meh, I don't know. Have fun reading!**

**Disclaimer: First chapter**

**Chapter 5**

_Previously: They entered a new room, and Pepper stopped screaming. She could hear something. Soft and gentle, full of love and care._

_"Hello Peps."_

"You can't seriously expect us to sit here while Stark kills himself, do you?!" exclaimed Clint. He had started to get closer to Tony after New York, as they both had the same sense of humour, and could understand each other without having to say anything.  
"Shhhh!" Natahsa said, finger on lips, apparently listening to something. The team looked at each other in confusion. "He's gone." She said, and audibly let out the breath she had been holding.  
"No. I don't. That's the point." Fury said, in answer to Clint's question.  
"What do you mean?" Bruce asked. "You just sent him away to die for Pepper, after telling us _and _him he has to do it, and now you're saying that we have to stop him doing it?"  
"Exactly." Natasha said. "Stark heard every word of us saying we must do it, so he has gone to give up the arc reactor and save Pepper, except we know that Hammer won't spare Pepper, it's not the way he works. So, if Tony thinks were not coming to help him, he won't act as if we are."  
"So, we _are _going to save Man of Iron and Miss Potts?" Thor asked, confusion written on his face.

"Ahhh! I get it!" Clint said.  
"Care to explain to those less fortunate?" asked Steve.  
"Basically, we are going to save Pepper and Tony, kick Hammer's arse and save the arc reactor, all without Tony knowing _what_ we are going to do, so that Tony will not act any differently than he would if all hope is gone, which is what he thinks now!" Steve thought that Clint looked a tad _too_ happy about the 'all hope is gone' bit, but he didn't mention it. Instead he said, "What are we sitting here for then? Let's go."  
"First of all we need to time it perfectly. In other words, we can't leave until Tony does, and we need to do it quietly. We also need to find out where Pepper is being held." Fury said.

"I think I know where it is." All eyes turned to Natasha. She took a deep breath and said, "When Tony was in Afghanistan, he was held in caves. I think Pepper is being held in one of the caves that Tony was held in." The room went silent.  
"That's a low blow." Steve whispered. The whole room agreed. To hold the love of his life in the place where he was tortured and almost killed, was bordering on barbaric.  
Steve mentally shook himself; he would need to be strong for his team. "Right guys, it's a long journey, so let's suit up."

Once the team were ready, Natasha ushered them onto a jet and sat in the pilot seat.  
"Ahaha! Very funny!" Clint laughed. "Shuffle over into the co-pilot seat." He added a little waft movement with his hands to elaborate what he was saying.  
"This isn't a joke, now sit down where you want n' buckle up." Natasha replied.  
"But _you're_ where I wanna sit.." Clint said in confusion. Natasha pulled him into the pilot seat and started the jet without another word.

"Buckle up!" she shouted. She flicked a few switches on the e_nor_mous switch board, and they were off. They sat in silence all the way to Afghanistan, but it wasn't an _awkward_ silence. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. It was kind of peaceful in a way, if they weren't going to save two of their trusted friends. Now that Steve thought about it, the team were his only friends, and he was sure that the same applied to the rest of them. All they have are each other, and when that's gone, what _do_ they have? He was shaken from his musings when Natasha said, in a hushed whisper, "Guys, we are about 2 miles out from where Stark is at the moment. He, more than likely, flew in the Iron Man suit, so got here faster than us. If we fly any closer, we risk Hammer hearing us, thus putting Tony and Pepper in danger. We will have to jog the next 2 miles, but I assume you can a do that?"

Bruce looked around him. Clint and Natasha could run that easily, they could probably do 15 miles before they broke a sweat. Thor and Steve were a given, they could make that as if it were running 100 meters. But him? He was never really a sportsman, even before the incident. Natasha seemed to understand the Doctors dilemma. "If I calculated correct on the amount of time that Hammer will talk _before _the actual hand over takes place, which I assume I have, then we have roughly 15 minutes to get there. That's 7 ½ minutes per mile, which is doable." She gave him a reassuring smile which, unsurprisingly, did very little to reassure him.

"Let's get going then." Clint said, as they all stepped foot into the desert.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It's all getting closer and closer to the end! This chapter will be the big showdown from Tony and Pepper's POV and the next one will be from the team's POV. There may be another chapter with a recovery in it, if that is what people would like x**

**Disclaimer: First chapter**

**Chapter 6**

_Previously: "Let's get going then." Clint said, as they all stepped foot into the desert._

**Tony and Pepper's POV**

"Tony? What are you doing here? Go away, you shouldn't be here!" Pepper whispered. The big burly man put Pepper, rather roughly, down on the floor, and she ran over to Tony.  
"Hey, hey, Peps, shh, shh, I'm here for _you_." Tony soothed, pulling Pepper to his chest, the light of the arc reactor slightly soothing her.  
"Oh, Tony!" she wept, leaving tears on his shirt.  
"I know, I know." He replied, rubbing her back in soothing, circular motions.

"Ahh, how touching." Hammer walked into the room, a nose cast on his face. "As you can see, that _bitch_" he nodded at Pepper "broke my nose. Now, you better give me that reactor or I will kill her in the most painful way I can think of." Tony found it hard not to punch Hammer, with the language he had used.  
"What? Tony? Why are you giving it to him?" Pepper asked, shocked.  
"Because I love you." He answered simply.

That was what broke Pepper. She had tried to be strong, but this was too much.  
"You shouldn't have come; I would have stayed here if it meant you would have been safe." she cried.  
"But that's why I'm here. I have to protect the one thing, I can't live without. That's you."  
"But you won't be living if you give him the reactor!" she rebutted.

"Now, it's all very sweet, but I think we should do the exchange it now. You've been here for 10 minutes and nothing has happened." Hammer interrupted. Tony gave Pepper one last hug before stepping away from her, much to her distress.  
"Tony! Stop!" she screamed, but Tony blocked her out; this was hard enough already.

One of Hammer's men came and held Pepper still, as she was attempting to run after Tony. Tony sighed. He knew the end was to come someday, especially in his dangerous line of work, but he had hoped that he would have at least 10 more years with Pepper. He hadn't even proposed yet. At least he was dying to save her. At least she would live on.

He walked to where Hammer was waiting.  
"It's all very poetic, don't you think?" Hammer observed.  
"What is?" Tony muttered, all his hope gone.  
"Well, here, in this very room, all those years ago, you created _that_" he pointed at the arc reactor "and it saved your life. Now, all these years later, you are about to give it over, and it will kill you."

Pepper gasped. "These were the caves that you were held in?" she asked in shock.  
"Yes." Tony whispered.  
"Now, hand over the arc reactor, and I will let her live." Hammer reasoned.  
"Tony, don't you dare-" Pepper started, but she was stopped when a gun was put to her head.  
"I am a man who keeps my promises, I can assure you." Hammer stated.

Tony realised that there was no-way out. He had to do this. For Pepper. He put his hand on his arc reactor twisted it once to the left and then twice to the right. He felt it leave his chest, before he put it in a protected case that a woman had stepped forward with. That was when the pain began.

It started off as a dull throb, making him more and more conscious of the shrapnel, snaking its way towards his heart. Then it began to ache, a painful ache that made him fall into the nearest wall and then slide down to the floor. He was vaguely aware of Pepper shouting at him, shouting his name, but he couldn't think about that, he had to let go, he was doing this for _her_. He tried to focus then, on Hammer. And that's when it all went wrong.

"Stark, I am so glad that you're so brave and, what shall I say? Noble? Yes, but I am afraid to say that you're also incredibly **dumb**." Hammer was walking towards Pepper - _why was he walking towards Pepper?_ - and he had a gun in his hand. Tony started to panic, he tried to get up, but the pain was too much. "Pep-p-er" he managed to croak out.

"I may not break my promises, but I _do _lie" Hammer smiled. He turned to Pepper. "Goodbye Pepper. If you hadn't been so _stupid_ about my nose, then maybe this would have ended differently."

Tony's vision was almost gone, but he saw Hammer lift the gun to Pepper's head and he heard a gunshot. Then everything went black.

**A/N: Oooo! It's all happening now! Hope you are enjoying the story, and I hope all the boring bits have paid off :D There will be another chapter that will show you what has just happened, but from the team's POV. There may be a recovery chapter, depends what y'all want :D Sooo, update very soon as then next chapter is written.**

**abitherabii**


	7. IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

**IMPORTANT!**

**This story is not abandoned! I had chapter 7 and 8 written out, and then my laptop broke (hardware problem), so all the content was lost! I am having to use the school computers now, so the next chapter may not come up for quite a while :/ So 'bout that, but I couldn't do anything to save my precious story :(**

**Hope I wont lose any followers over this, and I hope you stay with me xx**

**Thanks for being amazing,**

**abitherabii xxx**


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